A. I WISH YOU ALL A WONDERFUL, RELAXING AND SAFE SPRING BREAK!!! SEE YOU ALL ON MONDAY, APRIL 6!!!
B. PLEASE READ: It is imperative that all of you, parents and visitors alike, check in to the Office upon your arrival on the Springhill campus and get a visitor badge whether you are here as a classroom volunteer, a field trip chaperone or just delivering homework to your child. For the safety and security of your children, there can be no exceptions to this rule. Please remember that not every visitor to our school may have benign motives for his/her presence or may have legal restrictions upon his/her being on campus. Help us keep your children safe by following this rule. Thank you.
C. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS whose artwork was chosen to represent Springhill School in the GOOGLE LOGO CONTEST!!! Their entries have been forwarded to the regional level of this competition. Good luck and a job well done by Charlotte Toney (Mrs. Quinn's kindergarten); Erin Hemmenway (Mrs. Thompson's 1st grade); Kate Schirmer (Ms. Spain's 2nd grade); John Gainey (Mrs. Caldwell's 3rd grade); Anastasya Izmailova (Mrs. Newcomb's 4th grade); Julia Lauer (Ms. Hungerford's 5th grade). Runner-ups were Alyssa Burtis (Mr. Anke's 4th grade) & Sabba Jweainat (Ms. Bornfleth's 5th grade).
D. WOW!!! WHAT A FANTASTIC PFC PARENT PARTY/AUCTION the previous Saturday at the Blackhawk Museum! Thank you to all who attended, supporting Springhill School in these tough economic times and a thousand thanks to Stri Zulch, Nancy Ishii and all of the other wonderful parent volunteers for putting this fabulous event together!
E. DOUBLE WOW!!! CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CAST OF THE 5th GRADE MUSICAL "WILLY WONKA" who performed 4 shows the previous Monday and Tuesday at the Lafayette's Town Hall Theatre. What great actors and singers all of you are! Many thanks to all who attended and a thousand thanks to volunteer parents Lyenne Denny & Cindy O'Connor, to Madison Gerringer and to Directors Rena Wilson & Dennis Markam for all of their efforts in making this production so wonderful!
F. YET AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH to Corrine Christensen, Dianne MacArthur and the PFC for the exceptional gourmet Teacher Appreciation Luncheon the previous Wednesday. As always, it was unbelievably scrumptious, delectable and ambrosial!!!
G. Join the PFC! Register for e-SCRIP!!

THE SIX PILLARS & PAY IT FORWARD CORNER

"With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation."
---Edison Haines

CHECK OUT THE SIX PILLARS BANNERS HANGING IN THE CENTRAL COURTYARD!

Springhill School has recently sent a team of eight (four parents and four staff members, including myself) to San Francisco for three days this summer where we were introduced to an impressive, character development framework used nationwide known as CHARACTER COUNTS!! It has an excellent track record primarily with schools, but also with sports organizations, businesses, nonprofit institutions, etc. We are eager to share what we learned at this workshop with the Springhill community. As parents, you will have opportunities to learn much more about how we might use CHARACTER COUNTS! as a framework for all that we do at Springhill. Through school communications, parent ed presentations from our PFC and your own children, you will be kept apprised of this endeavor as the school year progresses. CHARACTER COUNTS! is based on the Six Pillars: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship. We are enthusiastic about every aspect of CHARACTER COUNTS! and are looking forward to introducing its components to the student body. Because of the way in which the framework is designed and the flexibility with which it can be implemented, it can serve as an umbrella under which we will continue our PAY IT FORWARD program and our regular SPIRIT WEDNESDAY activities, and, perhaps, can create the opportunity for a number of additional activities. You will be receiving much more news about CHARACTER COUNTS! as the year unfolds, but you may also access the following website for more information: http://charactercounts.org/

Every week we will be including different aspects of our Pay It Forward theme for this year in the Friday Flyer. Character development should be a major component in any well-rounded educational program and it has been for many years at Springhill. Ask your children what their classes are doing for Pay It Forward. Come to Spirit Wednesday, 8:30 AM every Wednesday morning in the main courtyard and find out how we promote character development at Springhill School.

A. PENNIES FOR PATIENTS, our annual drive for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society will begin upon our return from Spring Break, Monday, April 6. Collection boxes will be in each classroom and the main Office for any change you can spare. Thank you for supporting the Pillar of Caring Caring!!!
B. JUMP ROPE FOR HEART HAS CONCLUDED FOR THIS SCHOOL YEAR!!! GET IN YOUR PLEDGES TO THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Thank you for supporting the American Heart Association and the lifelong health of those who participate! Thank you, Nick Kosach (Mr. CLUB FIT), the students of Springhill School and the American Heart Association!

DIFFERENTIATION CORNER

*Differentiated Instruction takes place in all of our classes. Each week we will be profiling a particular teacher's implementation of Differentiated Instruction every week in the Friday Flyer. Don't miss it!!!

In Ms. Hungerford's 5th grade, students have math menus on Fridays, which are five stations of games and activities challenging the students at various levels of development. They work in groups, moving through the stations, which allows them to go as deep into the material as they are able to. In addition, each student works with ALEKS, a computer math program which is individually tailored to the student's particular stage of development.

This Week in the Library

Remember, there are over 100 reasons to read. This week, reason number 23 is "You'll learn other points of view."

This week we celebrated Spring (and Spring Break) and took a look at more remarkable women and their accomplishments in several areas. "From the mud Ringing the Old cow pond come Grunts, whistles, and croaks." Notice that the capitalized letters spell out a word related to spring. Kindergartners had a good time figuring out the acrostics by Steven Schnur and enjoying the accompanying illustrations by Leslie Evans in their book Spring: an Alphabet Acrostic. They then enjoyed the evocative poem Did You Hear the Wind sing Your Name: an Oneida Song of Spring by Sandra De Coteau Orie.

Lady Bird Johnson loved wildflowers with all her heart. As First Lady, she wanted to bring the beauty of wildflowers to the highways and cities of the U. S. so that everyone could enjoy their beauty. First graders heard about Lady Bird Johnson's vision and how she worked to make it a reality in Miss Lady Bird's Wildflowers by Kathi Appelt.

Her nickname was "the flying schoolgirl." The fourth American woman licensed to fly, she performed at exhibitions, set distance records, opened a flying school in Texas with her family, but was not allowed to fly during WWI. Second graders were inspired by the story of Katherine Stinson Otero: High Flyer by Neila Skinner Petrick.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton refused to accept the prevailing attitude of 19th century America that women should not attend college, own property, or vote. With other like- minded women she set out to challenge the right to vote. Third graders heard of brave fight against inequalities in Elizabeth Leads the Way by Tanya Lee Stone.

An almanac is filled with hundreds of interesting facts but how do you find the one piece of information you're looking for quickly? Last week the fourth graders reviewed the terms table of contents and index. This week they practiced using these to answer questions in the World Almanac.

They may know a great deal about "their" state but the fifth graders had to find various facts about many of the states in their almanac lesson this week. Not only did they practice using an index but they hopefully learned a few things they hadn't known before. Now it's on to Jeopardy!

Don't forget to check out our website at http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/people/smattern/ind ex.htm.You will find monthly updates on what's happening at the Springhill Library, an updated library wish list, reviews of new books, and links to many helpful resources too.

Sherry Mattern, Library Specialist
smattern@LAFSD.K12.CA.US

Garden Work Days:

* Wednesdays (9-11am) 4/8, 5/13
* Sundays (2-5pm) 4/26

Splish, Splash, Summer Bash at Hideout!
Kid's Hideout is now accepting registration for summer. Please visit our website at www.kidshideout.net/FORMS, then go to the "Summer - Camp Hideout '09" section at the bottom of the page. Register early for discounts!! We will be open EVERY WEEK this summer (that's 10 weeks of care!). Each week will include activities in baking, cooking, arts, crafts, sports, science and drama/dance. We will also have Wheels Days, Tasty Tuesdays, Field Trips, Pool Days & Bounce House Fridays each week.
Register & pay all fees by Friday, March 20th to receive 10% off "Camp" fees and receive free extended care. Invite and enroll with a NEW family and you both receive 25% off of one weeks' "Camp" fees. See registration form for details! For more information, please call Beth at 283-7808 or beth@kidshideout.net. Come soak up some sun with us this summer!

Spring Break
We are still accepting enrollment for Spring Break - Hideout Goes Hollywood! Please visit www.kidshideout.net/FORMS, and then go to the Spring Break under CAMP REGISTRATION FORMS!

BARGAIN BOOK BONANZA SALE IS TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH (RIGHT AFTER SPRING BREAK)

It's that time again...Bring your quarters to school on Tuesday, April 7 to buy your favorite gently used books. Kindergartners can buy books between 11:10 and 12:10 in front of the kindergarten classrooms. 1st through 5th graders can buy books after they finish lunch in front of the multi-purpose room. All proceeds go to our school library. We also gladly except donations of books. We are especially in need of chapter books for the 4th and 5th graders. Please bag them, label the bag with"bargain book's and place them in the foyer of the multi-purpose room or call Farrel Vance @ 937-8230 to assist you.

Stick School Lacrosse at Springhill

Attention Spring Hill Families, Stick School Lacrosse is back! Thursdays After School 4/16-5/21.
Stick School is a Recreational, Coed Non-Contact Lacrosse program for 2nd-5th grade students. Stick School is based on recreation style games and a Reward Program designed to instill knowledge and confidence. Our expert instructors promote the physical, emotional and mental growth of each participant in a safe enjoyable environment. Stick School provides all equipment & instruction necessary for a child to develop his/her stick skills. Our goal is to provide a place where students have fun learning and improving their lacrosse stick skills. For more information, please visit us online: www.StickSchool.org

Announcing the Lamorinda Earth Day Festival!

On Sunday, April 19th the City of Lafayette, Sustainable Lafayette, and the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce are hosting the fourth annual Lamorinda Earth Day Festival at Stanley Middle School from 11-4pm. This will be the first festival of its kind, focused on the idea of "Going Local" and will feature 5 zones representing 5 ways to go local: eat local, shop local, power local, move local, and act local. There will be over 50 organizations with educational displays, handouts, information, and activities as well as live music, inspiring speakers, free videos, local food to taste, recycling, and many kids activities. Just for students: a Bicycle Rodeo where kids can navigate a course to learn bike safety skills, a presentation for students by the Alliance for Climate Education, tables and displays by many local school and scout troops, face painting, solar toys, story reading, tasty local foods, animals, re-usable lunch bags for sale, and more! For more information please visit: http://www.sustainablelafayette.net/events/earthday/

Girls Scout Volunteers Needed

Does your daughter love Girl Scouts? Have you ever thought of volunteering on the Board for Lafayette Girl Scouts? We have several open positions this year - some big and some small - but surely one that is right for you! Interested in a job where you can work with your daughter? We have those too! Each of these jobs is essential to shaping the future of Girl Scouts in Lafayette. Please consider joining us! For more information, visit our website at www.lafayettegirlscouts.org or call Colleen McCarty at 944-7162.

VisionTech Camps 2009

Summer computer camps will be held June 15- August 7th at our technology center in Danville and a few selected camps will be held at the Lafayette Community Center . VisionTech's program is for all students entering 2nd through 11th Grades. Choose from Robotics, Video Game Making, PC Building and JAVA Programming. All of our camps are hands-on allowing kids to learn by doing. VisionTech is an year round technology education provider. We provide technology based GATE, enrichment classes year round. Read the 2008 Women to Watch article in the May 2008 issue of Diablo Magazine featuring Anita Khurana, the founder of VisionTech. http://www.diablomag.com/Diablo- Magazine/May-2008/Women-to-Watch/

For more information, please visit our web site at www.visiontech camps.com or call (925) 699-9602.

Get to Know Stanley Night

Wednesday, April 7th, 7:00 - 8:00 PM at Stanley
For 5th Grade parents and/or guardians. Principal Schrag will share information about the basics of life at Stanley with specifics on classes, logistics and more.

Moraga's Annual Spring Egg Hunt Sat. April 11, 2009, 9:00am-12:00pm

Egg Hunts at 10:00 am and 11:00am
Moraga Commons Park, Corner of St. Mary's Road and Moraga Road

Games, toy walk, arts and crafts, jumpy houses and more! $5 per egg hunt for kids ages 1-6, Adults free, Unlimited games wristband $5. Tickets available only in advance www.moragajuniors.org or (925)888-7045.

Proceeds to benefit Moraga Parks and Recreation Foundation and Meals on Wheels for Local Seniors.

Lafayette's Solicitor Ordinance

Lafayette's Crime Prevention Commission is pleased to announce the passage of a new Solicitor's Ordinance. It took effect February 25, 2009. This ordinance requires anyone 16 years or older, who is selling goods or services door to door, to get a permit. This permit can be attained at the Lafayette Police Department. A background check will be done. Also, the ordinance states that a person soliciting cannot knock on a door where a NO SOLICITING sign is clearly posted. If a person is caught soliciting door to door without a permit, the first offense is a citation, the 2nd offense is a misdemeanor. For more information, please contact the Lafayette Police Department at 283-3680.

Town Hall Theatre's Second Annual Fundraiser - Postponed to Saturday, May 16

Please join us on Saturday, May 16, at Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette for a night of bidding and entertainment to support your favorite community theatre. Tickets will be $45 per person or $80 per couple and will include a glass of bubbly at the door and some delicious food from Wild Thyme Catering. Our entertainment for the evening will feature Town Hall actors, kids instructors and students. Raffle tickets are available for an overnight stay at the Lafayette Park Hotel and a $100 spa gift certificate. Need not be present to win! To purchase your party or raffle tickets, got to www.townhallt heatre.com or call 283-1557.

Join us for our 4th Brown Bag - Proudly Sponsored by WCI PTA
Transition from Middle-School to High-School - Panel discussion

Thursday, April 16, 2009, Noon - 1:30pm, library
Walnut Creek Intermediate School, 2425 Walnut Blvd, Walnut Creek, CA 94597

Las Lomas High School Counselors Hanalee Washburn and Ellen Smith -
Select High School Student Panel

The thought of leaving middle school and venturing into the unknown world of high school can bring up many issues for parents and children. Come listen to and ask questions of two fantastic Las Lomas counselors. They will share their information on what you and your children can expect as this change happens. The knowledge that they offer will help you to make the transition more comfortable and positive for everyone in your household. The insight you will gain from the panel of students who have already lived through the transition will be invaluable.

Please contact WCI Parent Education Co-Chairs Julie Monasch juliecvm2@aol.com or Liz Bettis rebettis@sbcglobal.net with any questions.

no fee, register at the event or on-line at (course no 05- 6111) http://adulted.acalanes.k12.ca.us/onlinereg/Clas ses.asp? txtAction=LoadSections&txtCourseGroupID=1&txtCourse Code=0561

Questions & Comments? Vera Babor at vbabor@acalanes.k12.ca.us

To submit entries to the Friday Flyer, email Maria Pratt: fridayflyereditor@yahoo.com

All entries due Wednesday before 3:00pm. Entries must be kept brief, please.
Subscriber info: bethhutson@comcast.net

Web: http://www.lafsd.k12.ca.us/springhill